April 30, 2010

The Morning Wrap

Goldman Case Goes Criminal:The New York Times reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has filed a civil suit against Goldman Sachs, referred its investigation to prosecutors for the Southern District of New York, which has now opened its own inquiry. Goldman has vigorously denied the accusations by the S.E.C., which accused Goldman of defrauding investors involved a complex mortgage deal.

A Justice Who is Already on the Bench? A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that judicial experience is the most valued quality among a list of professional and personal characteristics. Seven in 10 say service as a judge is a positive quality for a Supreme Court nominee, while only 5 percent see it as a negative. In contrast, 35 percent view experience outside the legal world as a positive.

Arizona Immigration Law Fuels Lawsuits: Yesterday, the first lawsuits in a planned wave of legal challenges to the controversial Arizona immigration law, USA Today reports. In Phoenix, the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders said the new law illegally interferes with the federal government's immigration enforcement responsibilities and would spur "racial discrimination." In Tucson, city patrol officer Martin Escobar charged that provisions for police to question suspects about their immigration status "would seriously impede law enforcement investigations."

Tears of the General Counsel: Scott Rothstein's former law firm general counsel cried Thursday as he recalled how he discovered his boss had committed a fraud of epic proportions, the Daily Business Review reports. David Boden, who worked for Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler for 18 months before it imploded last November, testified in a deposition about discovering the $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme. He was the subject of an all-day deposition by Fort Lauderdale attorney Chuck Lichtman of Berger Singerman, which represents trustee Herbert Stettin in the firm's bankruptcy.

Oil Spill Reaches Louisiana Coast:The Times-Picayune reports that last night the oil slick from the well in the Gulf of Mexico that exploded on April 20 reached the tip of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Louisiana Gov. Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency Thursday after the Coast Guard confirmed that the undersea well was spewing five times as much oil as previously thought and that it was leaking from three spots instead of two. The National Law Journal reports that Daniel Becnel Jr., who is also caught up in Toyota's unintended-acceleration litigation, filed a class action on Thursday over damages caused by the drilling rig that exploded.

Camden Yard's Makeover Guru:The New York Times has a profile of the woman responsible for leading the renovation of Camden Yards, the stadium home of the Baltimore Orioles. Janet Marie Smith, one of the people most closely associated with the park’s initial success, faces the challenge of not infringing on the iconic nature of the sports venue while at the same time trying to squeeze as many dollars as she can out of its suites, club seats, signage, concession stands, and parking lots.